The present invention relates to seals, and more particularly to seals for spherical plain bearings.
Spherical plain bearings are well known and typically include an inner ring with a convex outer surface and an outer ring with a concave inner surface disposed against the inner ring outer surface. The inner ring is generally disposed upon a shaft and the outer ring is disposed within an outer member, for example a rod, and permit both angular displacement about a central axis through the inner ring and axial “cocking” of rod with respect to the shaft, or vice-versa. Often such bearings include a seal, which is typically an annular ring attached to one of the bearing rings, usually the outer ring, and having a lip that engages with the mating surface of the other ring.